This old book is a treasure. I learnt to read with books like this and I still have vivid memories of tracing the soft felt letters with my fingertip.

Incorporating multiple senses (including touch) into letter and word learning can help deepen understanding and development and also create some very rich, engaging lessons!

Sitting still and being told to listen and watch can be hard for our little learners - being given permission to explore with their hands can make a huge difference.

Just as I loved tracing the felt letters in these books, my little Mr 4 has been thrilled to explore these sight words with me recently.

After printing the word cards we used a giant push pin to pierce a hole through each dot. You could also use toothpicks. I told Sam that these were funny letters that were back-to-front and we needed to help get them fixed!

If I was to make a set for my classroom, as a teacher I would perhaps laminate them for durability and multiple use and 'pin' them myself.

We then 'flipped' the card - magic! We fixed the word.

The true magic however, is in the raised surface created by the pin pricks.

I taught Sam how to run his finger over the letters and 'trace' each word. He LOVES it! We say each letter as we go. He is learning the letter names while feeling the shape with his finger.

Enter the code CYBER2016 at checkout to score 28% off in both my resources and clipart stores.

#2 New Classroom Banners

I made 2 new banners this week, to use as collaborative fact displays in the classroom. Each student can find 1 different fact about either reindeer or penguins, and write it on their pennant. Display with the lettered banner and you have your display done for the week!

You can also just use the lettered pennants for a bulletin board header or focus wall!

I created a new growing bundle for these 'Fact Banners' after several requests and many more ideas to get working on!

#3 Pinning Pages + A Freebie

I've also bundled my 'Pinning Page' packets! Click below to find them and remember - you can save 28% off for the next 2 days.

If you have not tried pinning before, it is a lot of fun - but be sure to set up some very clear and reinforced guidelines for working with sharp pins.

Enter the code CYBER16 at checkout to receive a 28% discount in my resources and clipart stores!

Excitement is building, and I know from many years experience that a plan is essential for making the most of the extraordinary savings!

Here are some tips to help you get prepared:

1. Load your wishlist!

What is a wishlist you ask?

As you scroll through the resources listed on TpT, you will see a clickable option called "Add to Wishlist". These items will be added to a virtual list in your account, from which you can easily take items quickly through to the checkout, on sale day.

If something is on your wishlist, you don't HAVE to purchase it, but it makes it a lot easier to find when you are in the midst of a sale frenzy!

I constantly add things to my wish list, almost like a virtual sticky-note service.

Go through TpT over the next few days and add things to your wish list with abandon. You can then comb through your wish list later on sale day, and decide which items to take through to the checkout!

Another great tip is to find your favourite sellers and search their store by 'Most Recently Listed' to find some new publications to add to your wishlist.

2. Enter to Win

Keep a look out on social media over the next few days. A ton of wonderful sellers will be offering you chances to win TpT gift vouchers, or score bonus 'buy one get one free' style deals. Enter as many as you can, and you could WIN vouchers to spend over the sale! Woohoo!!

Starting with me! I am going to give away a $100 gift voucher, a $50 gift voucher and 5 $5 gift vouchers to some of my lucky readers! All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter at the end of this post.

3. Earn Feedback Points

Give feedback on all your past purchases on TpT! This will earn you credit points that you can use to offset your total when you checkout.

Go to your TpT account. Click on 'My Purchases'. Sort by 'Needs Feedback'. Then you can enjoy a lovely cup of coffee while you catch up and earn points!

4. Save with Bundles

This is an absolute essential! Be sure to check out the 'Bundles' category of your favourite sellers before you finish your wishlist!

Most sellers (myself included) will drastically reduce the price of each individual unit within the bundle when creating it.

With an additional 28% off these already discounted prices, it is most defiantly the time to BUNDLE UP AND SAVE!

Let's take a look at an example. This Ultimate Pack of Math Games is in my store for $15.

During the sale it will be 28% off - so $10.80

It includes 20 printable games. Each game, sold individually, lists for around $3.

So in this particular case you would be buying around $60 worth of printables for just $10.80.

Talk to your colleagues about what they are purchasing. Take advantage of the very generous 'multiple licenses' that most sellers provide.

When you add an item to your cart, you can also buy an additional license - so you can share one with a friend, and then split the cost. So if you buy something for $10.80 and pay a $5.40 license to share it with one of your teaching colleagues, you can both arrange with one another to pay $8.10 each to cover the 2 licenses you require!

Seriously. Bundles are best!

Good luck getting ready and thank you so much for stopping by! Please enter the super-simple rafflecopter below. I love a good giveaway, and have not done one for a while, so I am taking this awesome opportunity to share some TpT love!

There are multiple prizes in this rafflecopter - use the arrows to scroll across and be sure to enter each one!

And by 'chat' I mean we went round and round in circles for a very long time, in confusing long-winded hypothetical scenarios as I thought of every wonderful little management snippet that has been passed onto me by a long line of terrific teachers with wonderful tips, techniques and tidbits.

And there may have been some yawns.

And then I summarised. As all pretty-good-average teachers like myself, do.

Just be 100%.

Whatever you do, or however you decide to manage..... own it. 100%. It is the consistency that will achieve the results, not any sort of magic trick.

Do what you say you will do. Follow through on promises and manage things so that your students can anticipate their day and you as their teacher with 100% certainty.

And I promise, after a few months of 100%, your class will begin to accept 99 and you can breathe again.

My 5 Top Tips for Classroom Management

Build relationships with your students. Making time to let them be heard is priceless.

Talk to your colleagues about what works for them in the context of your school. Listen to the ideas of teachers who have the experience. Bloggers love sharing their ideas, but how many of them abandoned the classroom? Honestly, I am going to poke my eyes out if I have to read one more judgmental tidbit from someone who sits behind a desk after giving up after 8 months of teaching. Our best resource is each other. Chat with someone who has walked the walk and stuck with it.

Keep your expectations and/or rules as simple as possible. Let your students help you make them if you have the time.

Explain and reinforce your expectations with visuals to assist understanding. Explain them several different ways, with role play to 'act them out'.

Consistency. As close to 100% if you manage it.

If like me however, and you want to supplement your basic management philosophy with fun and engaging strategies for your students, consider following my Classroom Management Pinterest board! I love finding new ideas and saving them here for you.

This Teddy Bear Pack of number games in my collection has been updated and refreshed!

Students will love having a fun teddy theme to help practice essential early counting and numeral identification skills. Teddy Roll is great for reinforcing number order. Play it for forwards or backwards counting!

Bear will help students become familiar with numerals, patterns and number words!

Bear Hop will help with numeral identification.

And 'Teddies' with matching quantities to numerals. If you have the license already, download your new goodies by heading to your 'My Purchases' tab on TpT or direct from the listing HERE

And in even better news - we are half way through the week, friends! You deserve to be excited!

It was warm today and we spent a few hours in the sunshine. The light and warmth seems to make me happier and energised. Perhaps it's a consequence of having been 'put out' in my bassinet for a half hour or so each day as a baby, by my mother. Apparently it was 'the thing to do'. Whatever the reason, I tend to seek out a sunny corner somewhere whenever I need an energiser.

To be guided by the light, warmth and goodness in the universe - it's a good rule of thumb for all things I guess...

3. Christmas in the Classroom
With only a few weeks left of my school year and so many planned events, I want to squeeze in a few Christmas arty activities in the next week or two or we just won't get to them. I am pinning my inspiration HERE

4. We just discovered Harriet Clare.
My daughter and I are a little obsessed. Lots of fun reading and sketching in these books!

Head over to TPT to find this FREE owl directed drawing. We had a 'super moon' here in Australia last night and a lovely artwork is the perfect way to celebrate and introduce a discussion about the moon.

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